Rylee Gibbs

Responsibilities

My responsibilities as a front desk representative vary day by day. For the most part, I answer the phone, book reservations, and do all of the check-ins and check-outs. I am also there if any guest were to need something, then I would be the one to get it for them. There is also a small drawer of money that I am responsible for in case a guest needs change from a purchase in our snack marketplace.

Accomplishments

I would say that my greatest accomplishment throughout my internship was my ability to adapt. Because of COVID-19, we lost our housekeeping team for a couple of months, therefore; the front desk staff took over and filled that role. So during each of my shifts along with attending to the front desk and all of its responsibilities, I was also doing the housekeeping for the entire hotel. The housekeeping responsibilities varied, but I did anything from stripping rooms, to making beds, and mopping and scrubbing the bathrooms in each room to prepare for guest's arrival. Every day was different and some days were more challenging than others, but I am proud that I was able to adapt and take on a lot of responsibilities at once and still have the hotel succeed.

Learning experience

The hotel industry was completely new to me when I began and during my time there I believe I gained a healthy knowledge of it. I was able to get great training from my coworkers so that I could keep the hotel up and running by myself during my shifts. I learned a lot about different POS systems while working at the Radisson. My managers gave me the opportunity to cross-train at a Best Western hotel across the street (owned by the same company) and their hotel system was completely different from the Radisson's. I gained a lot of knowledge training with both the OPERA and CloudPM systems. I am very glad I was given that opportunity during my internship because it will definitely help me with my future career in hospitality management.

What advice would you give?

My advice for future students is to not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. I had only been in the food and beverage industry before I did this internship and it was a great change of pace. I was anxious at the beginning but I realized that if I want to go onto bigger and better things after graduation, I need to expand my experiences as well or I will have trouble finding a job in the real world. If you step out of your comfort zone, even though it might be scary, you will learn so much! Everything you learn, from the actual job tasks to the people skills, will be so helpful after you graduate.